tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Nov 18 10:37:32 1994
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Re: jabbI'ID wa'DIch
>Date: Fri, 18 Nov 1994 04:18:18 -0500
>Originator: [email protected]
>From: [email protected]
>Heghlaw'pu' Qanqor. taHjaj Qanqor qa'. lojtaHvIS Qanqor, val Dap qoj quv qoH.
>DevwI'na' ghaHpu' Qanqor'e'.
wej Heghpu' HoDma'! "Generations" lubejmeH, ghom ghaH, juppu'Daj je,
qaStaHvIS DaHjaj ram ('e' vIQoylaw').
>Right now we are probably witnessing Krankor's dream of what the list should
>become. There are several skilled people using much Klingon right now,
>whereas there hadn't been before. That's perhaps why he left. He got tired of
>thousands of posts about nothing except, "I've got a way to say such-and-such
>in Klingon..." "Well, maybe you could do that, but you could also make it.."
>"Yeah, but I would prefer it if you said it like..." etc etc etc. It gets
>nowhere. Why are we lounging around here when we should working hard creating
>a formidable collection of Klingon literature and teaching the masses. The
>only real extensive Klingon course available right now is Proechel's. Has
>anyone really looked at it? Besides being chock full of plain old errors, it
>misexplains many fine points of grammar. I was given the job of editing it
>and making up an answer key, but didn't have the time. Sigh, there are just
>too many people speaking not-good-enough Klingon because we haven't made
>sufficient progress in teaching the language and getting more people
>genuinely interested in it. Maybe that's what drove Krankor off.
ghobe'. yapbe' neH poHDaj, 'e' vIHarchu'.
No, he's just busy beyond belief. He's not completely dropped off the face
of the earth. You're right about iffy Klingon being taught; it breaks my
heart to see it: it isn't that bad Klingon is being propogated for comments
and correcting, it's that bad Klingon is being promulgated as good Klingon.
I've seen many a study-note or well-rehearsed quote that absolutely reeks.
Most people are good and willing to learn; Glen is sometimes too convinced
he's right.
There is also a severe shortage of good speakers. Not to sound *too*
conceited, but the number of Klingon-speakers I know of whose Klingon I'd
really trust I could probably count on one hand (maybe a hand and a half).
So when someone shows up on the list whom we've never seen before, sayin
"I'm excited to find this list! By the way, I'm teaching a course in
Klingon..." it can't help but send shivers up my spine (please do not take
offense, those of you who fit this description---and I know there are some
reading out there. I appreciate your work in publicizing the language, and
also acknowledge that Klingon Central ought to have *some* way for helping
out).
>Or maybe he just doesn't have enough time on his hands. Either way, chaos
>runs rampant without him. It runs rampant with him too, but we don't care. At
>least he was the greatest leader this mailing list could have had, even if he
>was no linguist.
True; he cut through noise and crap the way nobody else does (leastways not
me, and I'm the closest we have to his substitute until he returns: the
remaining List Grammarian).
>Perhaps a good thing would be getting people interested in it who are not so
>much Trekkies. Every Trekkie would love a TKD, but none of them would ever
>learn it, even if they wanted to, unless they had an interest/talent in
>languages.
I spend quite a lot of time explaining to mainstream folks that I'm more a
language-fanatic than a Trek-fanatic. People don't seem willing to believe
that... nor that studying Klingon could be worthwhile for reasons other
than lining Paramount's pockets, that there could be interesting linguistic
points there. That's what the KLI is partly for, to help legitimize the
study, I think. If people would view it from that angle, maybe we'd do
better. Then again,maybe it would change the character of our little
study-organization in ways we don't like. Of course, were Krankor here,
he'd say "If people need to be coaxed and cajoled with affected
mainstreamism, who needs them?" (he wouldn't put it *quite* that way).
That's what he said about the KBTP, I remember.
>Guido
~mark